82-year-old woman charged with solicitation to commit murder

Hoover police say an elderly woman is facing serious charges after attempting to have three family members murdered.

Investigators say 82-year-old Sue Chastain Hutchison was taken into custody on Thursday in the Lee Branch Shopping Center parking lot.

According to police, an individual contacted police on Monday and provided information that Hutchison was attempting to pay to have family members killed. They believe Hutchison was concerned about who might inherit her husband's estate upon his death.

Police say Hutchison met with who she thought to be a middle man three times. She believed the middle man to know a third party that would carry out the murders. In two of the meetings, money was exchanged. Officers say Hutchison insisted to the middle man that they not use the word ‘killed' but instead use ‘eliminated.'

Detectives interviewing Hutchison say she admitted to orchestrating the plot. She thought the murders would be carried out on Wednesday night and stated that she watched the Thursday morning news to see if a story about murders would air.

"She watched the media Thursday to see if there was any news about the homicides," Hoover Police Captain James Coker said. "It's very unusual. We have a duty to investigate any kind of a threat against a person."

Hutchison is being held in the Shelby County Jail on a $600,000 bond.

So how much money is in Hutchison's husband's estate? It's unclear because he is still alive and a person's estate isn't finalized until after their death. Authorities say family members were shocked when they learned of the plot.